Category Archives: Fiction

Sep
06
2015

Tuck everlasting by Natalie Babbit

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THE TUCK’S ARE NOT A NORMAL FAMILY. I read Tuck everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. Winnie Foster is a well brought up girl. She lives in a place called treegap. Winnie is bored as usual so she goes for a walk in the woods. The Tuck family has a big  secret. When Winnie catches Jesse Tuck drink from a spring in the woods she wants to drink some too. Jessie will not let Winnie drink from the spring. Just then Mae and Miles appear. Mae is aware of Winnie’s wish and decides to kidnap her. Soon Mae tells her about why she couldn’t drink the water. The Tucks are immortal because the spring wasn’t an ordinary spring. It was a fountain of youth. But a man in a yellow suit hears and tells Winnie’s family if they sell the woods to him he will bring Winnie back. Mr Tuck made Winnie understand why she must not tell anyone.  “We are not people we are just rocks by the road.”

The man goes back to the Tuck’s house and tells them about the woods and the plan. That he was selling the water to people. So Mae Tuck hit him on the head with a shotgun. Mae Tuck is arrested and is to be hanged. But then Mae can not die. Winnie switches places with Mae Tuck so the Tucks can escape. Later the constable sees Winnie’s face and lets her go. Jessie is growing to like Winnie so he gave her a bottle of the special water before he runs of. Will Winnie see Jesse again?

I loved this book because I read it nonstop and couldn’t put it down. I would give it five stars.

 

Sep
04
2015

Spirit Animals book 3 Blood Ties by Garth Nix and Sean Williams

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The book that I will do my review on is called Spirit Animals book 3 Blood Ties. The authors are Garth Nix and Sean Williams. It is located in the world of Erdas which is completely fiction and the time I would say is in the 1200s. The main characters are, Conor, Meilin, Abeke, Rollan, and Tarik. The main problem is that the devourer has risen and is trying to conquer Erdas.

The devourer has risen again and the quest for talismans has begun. with the talismans of the great beasts, the devourer is unstoppable. Can the greencloaks prevent that from happening? read spirit animals to find out.

 

 

An event that changed the direction of the story is that Meilin ran off away from the others and made them try to get the Slate Elephant talisman without her. Meilin made a big decision to run off and find her long lost father one of the five highest generals in her country Zhong. It was a big decision because her spirit animal Jhi the great panda advised against it. The problem with the devourer was never resolved because even though the devourer made an appearance in the battle for the Slate elephant, he ran away from the battle once he was injured. “the crocodile turned and streaked away with astonishing speed.” page 179.

I enjoyed the book because there are 2 different stories in one. Meilin trying to find her father and the greencloaks quest to the great beast Dinesh’s temple. I also liked the intense part when Abeke and Conor try to get the banana gourds. I lastly liked the part when the rhino riders knock everyone unconscious. I think people who read Percy Jackson would like this book because the story is like Percy Jackson’s story. I rate this book 4 stars. 

by Alon.

Aug
29
2015

The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman by Meg Wolitzer

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This summer I read a book called The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman written by Meg Wolitzer. The main characters are Duncan Dorfman (from Drilling Falls, Pennsylvania), April Blunt (from Portland, Oregon) and Nate Saviano (from New York City). They each represent teams at a national scrabble tournament (the YST a.k.a. the Youth Scrabble Tournament) in Florida. There are four main problems:

  1. Duncan is a new kid in his town at a new school trying to figure out a new life.
  1. April is the only person in her sporty family who hasn’t won anything and she’s trying to get into the spotlight.
  1. Nate is getting homeschooled by his dad who has high expectations for him as a Scrabble player.
  1. ONLY ONE TEAM CAN WIN!

One event that changed the directional point of the story is when Carl Slater, captain of the Drilling Falls middle school Scrabble club and bully, finds out about Duncan’s power. I’m not going to tell you what it is because you have to read the book first. Fine, I’ll tell you what Carl says. Carl says to Duncan, “You’re telling me you can feel the words underneath your fingers without looking? I have plans for you, Lunch Meat (Duncan’s nickname from the first day of school — this is a part of the story you will find out about when you read the book!)” Duncan has to decide whether he wants to use his special talent or not to win. Another event that changes the story is when Nate gets frustrated during a game and quits the tournament. His teammate, Maxie, ends up quitting, too. They have a conversation and Maxie offends Nate. Nate says, “I am not selfish, Maxie. I had no idea you cared so much about this tournament.” Then Maxie says, “Oh, you thought I was just doing it for you Nate? Well, think again.” Nate and Maxie become friends again and finish the tournament (they end up losing to Duncan’s team and place third).

I enjoyed the book because it was a story about friendship. An example of friendship is when Nate walked away from the Scrabble game and Maxie came and got him back in to it. Another reason why I enjoyed the book was there was a lot of action in it. An action scene was when Nate’s father, Larry, met his old Scrabble partner, Wendell Bruno. Wendell was talking, and talking, and talking about when they played Scrabble together. And THEN he started talking about how he looks for a Saviano in every single Scrabble tournament. But it was an action part and a BIG part in the story. Also one last reason I enjoyed the book was because it makes you want to play Scrabble. After I finished the book, I wanted to play a game of Scrabble and I did. I would rate this book 5 stars because Meg Wolitzer did a good job of telling the story and not having it get too complicated with lots of characters who play a big part in the plot.

THE END *****

 

Aug
25
2015

Emily Windsnap and the Ship of Lost Souls

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My book is called, Emily Windsnap and the Ship of Lost Souls. It is by Liz Kessler. She lives in Cornwall, England. If you want to read the first book I would not suggest reading this book reveiw. Emily Windsnap is an Eighth Grade girl who is also a Semi-mer. (a Semi-mer is a Human but if the go deep enough into water they turn into a mermaid/man) Her best friend is Shona who is a full time mermaid and Her other friend Mandy (who used to bully her) is a full time Human. And her Boyfriend Aaron is a Semi-mer like her. This is the sixth book in the series I suggest reading the other books first: 1,The Tail of Emily Windsnap. 2, Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep. 3, Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist. 4, Emily Windsnap and the Siren’s Secret. 5, Emily Windsnap and the Land of the Midnight Sun. This book takes place mostly at a place called Five Bays. It is run By Lyle and Lowenna Waters. She goes to Five Bays on a class trip (Shona’s School Shiprock also is coming) and everything there is unorganized and Lowenna is not there. The Emily and Aaron go and find a hidden place with a chair looking out onto the ocean. And then they see a ship that no one else can see and they don’t know why so they tell Mandy and Shona and they try to figure it out.

 

One day Shona and Emily are out in the water and Emily sees the ship up close and she sees a woman in the ship who she can’t hear but seems to be mouthing the words “Help us!” Then She goes into Lyles office with Mandy and Aaron and talked with Lyle who is suspicious about if they know anything about the ship and they denied knowing anything about it and then before they leave Emily sees a picture on his desk of the woman she saw on the ship. Later they sneak into his office and use his computer to look up the name of the ship which is Prosperous II and find out it is a boat owned by a  vacation company. They need to know more so they ended up telling Lyle everything.

 

I really liked this book a lot and if you want to know more then read the book! If you like adventure books then you would like this book because Emily loves adventure and even admits in the book she can’t help pass up and adventure. I would rate this book five stars.

Aug
22
2015

When You Reach Me

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The Author of When You Reach Me is Rebecca Stead. This book takes place in New York Upper West side 1978-1979. The main character is Miranda Sinclair. The other important characters are, Sal (her best friend), Marcus (the boy who punched Sal), The Laughing Man (a homeless guy who is always sticking his head in a mailbox and her friends,Colin and Annemarie (and Julia but Miranda doesn’t like her at first) The situation is she is getting letters and she dosen’t know who is writing them. When she got the first letter her house door was unlocked and the extra key (for if she loses her key) is gone and nothing appears to be stolen. Then she finds the first letter in her library book. This is what the first letter says:

 

M,

This is hard. Harder than I expected, even with your help. But I have been practicing,and my preparations go well. I am coming to save your friends life,and my own. I ask two favors. First, write me a letter. Second please remember to mention the location of your house key. The trip is a difficult one I will not be myself when I reach you.

 

This is confusing because why would someone who took the key ask where it is?

 

 

If you want here are the other letters but they probably won’t make sense unless you read the book! 🙂

 

Second letter:

 

Miranda:

Your letter must tell a story-a true story. You cannot begin now, as most of it has not yet taken place. And even afterward, there is no hurry. But do not

wait so long that your memory fades. I require as much detail as you can provide. The trip is a difficult one, and I must ask my favors while my mind is sound.

A postscript: I know you have shared my first note. I ask you not to share the others. Please. I do not ask this for myself.

 

 

The Third letter:

 

You will want proof 3 p.m today:Colin’s knapsack.

Christmas Day: Tesser well.

April 27th:Studio TV-15

P.S Yawns do serve a purpose. They cool the brain by bringing air high into the nasal passage, which has the effect of increasing alertness.

 

The last letter:

 

This is the story I need you to tell this and everything that has led up to it Please deliver your letter by hand you know where to find me. My apologies for the terse instructions. The trip is a difficult one; I carry nothing, and a man can only hold so much paper in his mouth.

 

 

I really liked this book because it gives you clues that don’t make sense and then the more you read the more it makes sense. Also the book is the perspective of Miranda’s letter to the letter writer. I would suggest this book if you like books like that and if you like time travel and mini problems aside a bigger one. I would rate this book five stars!

 

                          

 

 

Aug
12
2015

A Crooked Kind of Perfect

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1535111Over the summer I read a book called a Crooked Kind of Perfect written by a women named Linda Urban.  This book is about a ten year old girl named Zoe Elias that wanted to be a piano prodigy and play Carnegie Hall when she was older. She told her parents to buy her a piano but her dad came home with an organ.

 

Learning versions of old TV theme songs on the organ was definitely not the same as playing Carnegie Hall and  having to play an organ wasn’t the only bad thing about her life.  Zoe’s mom was always at work, her dad was at home trying to find a job and a strange boy from school named Wheeler was always following her home to hang out with Zoe’s dad.  Right when Zoe thinks everything is going wrong she enters the annual perfor-O-rama organ competition and realizes that not everything needs to be perfect and can sometimes be a little off center.

 

To be honest, at the beginning of the book I didn’t think it was going to like it, but when I kept reading I kept liking it more and more. The first thing I really liked was that I was the same age as the main character so I was able to relate to her a lot.  I also liked that the book was a fiction book but the theme was very realistic. Even though I  liked the book in general, I thought that the chapters were really short and would have loved to learn a little more about the characters and about what was happening before each chapter ended. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an easy read book with a  happy ending. I would rate this book 4 ½ stars.

 

 

Aug
06
2015

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

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cover.225x225-75The name of the book I read is The Mysterious Benedict Society (book one), the book is by Trenton Lee Stewart. The book takes place in Stonetown (somewhere on the planet Earth), in present time. The main characters are Reynard “Reynie” Muldoon, George “Sticky”  Washington, Kate “The Great Kate Weather Machine” Wetherall, and Constance Contraire. The main problem is that they have to overcome their differences and learn to work together to save the world from Ledroptha Curtain, and his Whisperer machine before he makes the world his piece of paper.

 

“Sometimes, Reynie, trouble itself is the key.” – Mr. Benedict. The biggest turning point is when the characters (The Mysterious Benedict Society) worked together to shut down the Whisperer by confusing it. After bickering constantly about all the secrets and things they wouldn’t tell each other, they finally bonded together as a team and friends. Throughout the story an important decision is whether to cheat or not to cheat to get higher up in the ranks to become a messenger. Messengers go into the Whisperer and learn more about how Mr. Curtain is able to bend almost everyone’s minds. In the end the big problems do fade away but their shadows are still there.

 

This is a breathtaking book, and there are many examples as to why. But, for right now just three. The first example is that the characters are so relatable, a little bit of yourself is in every character. Constance is determined, stubborn, and very resistant to anything she doesn’t like. Reynie is the go to for puzzles, and problems guy. Kate is very resourceful, and adventurous. Finally, Sticky is the know-it-all.    The second example is that  the story was never boring, or dull, and it never made me want to do other things. The third example is that some of the many riddles and clever wordplay was easy to solve before the characters did, and other times you  just have to go along with the book and the characters. The kind of reader that would enjoy this series is a reader that loves to think, and enjoys some mystery as well as action. The book gives you a lot of uncoded messages that you as well as the characters have to figure out. If I were to rate this book from 1 to 10 stars, I’d give it a full on 10. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jul
16
2015

Beyond The PawPaw Trees by Palmer Brown

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51DLxrS2iXL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_One of the books I read this summer, is called Beyond The PawPaw Trees by Palmer Brown. It takes place in a magical land, in a magical past. Some of the places in the land that Anna Lavinia crosses include a train, a dessert and a little village. The main characters are Anna Lavinia,  her father, and her Aunt Sophia Maria. The challenge for Anna Lavinia  in the story is getting to Aunt Sophia Maria’s house. To be able to do this Anna Lavinia needs to cross the magical land between her and her Aunt Sophia Maria. Along the way she finds a key that is very important to her family’s story. Another challenge for Anna Lavinia is trying to find her father, who chases rainbows. Anna Lavinia has not seen her father in a long time, and neither has Anna Lavinia’s mother. On her way to her Aunt’s house she encounters a cliff, and she sees a little walled town below. She thinks her Aunt may live down there.

Something that changed the direction of the story the most was magic. Anna Lavinia was stuck at many points and the magic of the world helped her. An example is when Anna Lavinia was stuck at a cliff and she needed to get down to be able to continue her journey to find her Aunt Sophia Maria, and magic (with a little help of her umbrella) helped her float down safely. Anna Lavinia made some very big decisions and explorations. She explored through the magical land which could be very dangerous. Here are two examples from the book, “She thought she would try something else, because perhaps only the stones acted that way, so she opened her carpet bag and  found the fat woman’s tea cozy and tossed it out beyond the cliff. The tea cozy was so light it would not go dawn at all. A jar of pawpaw jelly went down well, a little slower than the stones.”  Another example is “Then she took a deep breath and jumped of into the air… Gathering her things together, Anna Lavinia commenced walking towards the strange walled town, which seemed to be farther than it seemed from the cliff.” Anna Lavinia’s challenge of getting to her Aunt Sophia Maria, gets resolved and makes it there safely with three new friends, a camel, a parrot, and the “thobby”. But will she ever find her father?

I enjoyed this book a lot. I liked this book because it is very descriptive. For example, when she gets to the little village, the author describes what the village looks like very well. I also liked it because I read another kind of old fashioned book called Pippa Passes (I also recommend it) and it was very good so I tried another old one. The last reason I liked this book was because I tend to like magical realism books because I can relate to the realism part, and the magic give it a fun twist. I think a reader who likes old fashioned books and magical realism will like this book. I think this because as I said before this is a magical realism book, and it is old fashioned. This was a great book. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars! *****

 

 

Jun
05
2015

Everything On A Waffle

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Everything On A Waffle

This skit isn’t really a scene from the book. The idea of this is to give you a sense of the characters. And when the characters say there turning Primrose’s diary into a book I mean the real book and I’m pretending it was a true story and it was her diary.

In my scene all the characters are in the book, but there are other characters I didn’t mention like someone named Ms. Perfidy, who took care of Primrose for a while her parents were away.

In my scene there are four characters.

Uncle Jack: Zoe/Tess

Uncle Jack is Primrose’s only other family member so he takes care of Primrose for a while. At first he isn’t the best person but then later on he is a hero.

Miss Bowser: Estelle/Stella

Miss Bowser is a cook. She works at a restaurant called The Girl On The Red Swing. She is a nice greeting person who always lets Primrose cook with her.

Ms. Honeycutt: Mia

Ms. Honeycutt is rich and full of herself and her ideas. She never cares what the other person thinks, she just does what she wants. She sent Primrose away once.

Primrose: Maeve

Primrose is an “orphan” her parents were lost at sea. But she knew that they were still alive. She just believed in her heart. Primrose is someone you can count on to be nice and give you a second chance.

STOP!!!

Before you watch my book review I would like to congratulate the actor in our scene. Big thanks to:

  • Estelle Guria ( Fantastic job without you this would be terrible, thank you for participating!)
  • Mia Sullivan ( Thanks so much you are a really good Ms. Honeycutt, I love your acting skill!)
  • Zoe Papavasiliou ( You are a super funny uncle jack, and you were so patient during the process.)
  • Stella Story ( Even though you weren’t in the real thing, in our first version you helped me work out problems and were cool with alot of things)
  • Tess Mccormick ( Just like Stella you weren’t in this but you had a great idea for uncle jack and the tissue box)
  • Last But certainly not least, Sophia Gregware ( Great video taper and you did a great job angling the ipad.)


                    Enjoy The Show!!!

 

New and improved Everything On A Waffle – 4th Grade Book Review from Namita Tolia on Vimeo.